Complaining on his blog costs Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard $15,000

Complaining costs Dwight

November 10, 2009

Magic C Dwight Howard has been fined for saying things to officials during games, drawing technicals. On Tuesday, the NBA announced that Howard was being fined $15,000 for public criticism of the officiating that appeared on his personal blog.

Howard's comments appeared following Orlando's 85-80 loss to Detroit on November 3 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

"What really bothers me is they are letting guys hammer me at one end of the floor, yet I'm being called for everything. All of those hits take a toll on my body after a while," Howard wrote.

Howard had made similar statements in the Sentinel.

GM Otis Smith had "no comment" about Howard's fine for blogging.

Howard has drawn three technical fouls this season at $1,000 a whistle.

Beaten down

Maybe because he didn't want to get fined, Coach Stan Van Gundy paused when asked about the Cleveland Cavaliers having an unusual amount of time off this early in the season.

Tonight at Amway Arena, the Magic face LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal and the Cavs, who will have had the previous four days off. Cleveland's last game was last Friday against the New York Knicks.

The Magic will come in having played road games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Charlotte Bobcats, with a travel day in between.

"It's rare this time of year that anybody gets a lot of days off," Van Gundy said. "We've had only six days off [since the start of the season] total. It's rare."

Layups

• The Lakers have a late-arriving crowd because it's laid-back L.A. But Charlotte? Bobcats Arena looked more like a preseason game at tip-off Tuesday night, with the lower bowl about 60 percent full. It was good for Duke grad J.J. Redick — fewer people to boo him.

• Unusual to see Howard squaring off against another center other than Emeka Okafor against Charlotte. They went 1-2 in the 2004 draft, with the Magic selecting Howard over Okafor. Okafor was traded by the Bobcats to New Orleans for Tyson Chandler.

• Van Gundy said he hoped PF Brandon Bass would "get it going" against the Bobcats. Bass, who did not start a single game last season in Dallas, scored eight points but looked uncomfortable.